Woop Woop!!!!!!!

[ladybug1802]

I have just come back from our third visit to J*n Bowen at the RVC in London with Dylan and I am so so so proud! First of all Dylan was noticeably much more relaxed when we went into the room to chat....he just sat next to me taking treats, then lay down! I told him about the progress we have made and he was very pleased.

Then after about half an hour he said it would be a good idea to go outside and he would go around the corner to his car, while we waited, put his coat and hood on and reappear and walk past to see how he reacts. So we waited, and I kept Dylan facing me and away from the direction Jon would be coming from, and then he appeared, and to be honest if I saw him I would be a little wary!! Hood up, looking a bit dodgy! But that was the point, plus he wanted to diguise himself from Dylan knowing who he was.

So he walked past Dylan, who was sitting in front of me and I fed him treats, and as he passed Dylan just glanced at him then straight back to me......he walked past a couple more times and it was all fine. Jon said he was watching me the first time to see what I was doing and how I was acting, and he said I did everything really well, and he also said it was great to see Dylan's body language so relaxed. Honestly a year ago...in fact 6 months ago...he would have straight away reacted by lunging as soon as this hooded guy walked past.

A massive huge enourmous improvement and I am so incredibly proud!

So now we carry on with the counter conditioning but using the clicker now....he didnt want me to use the clicker initially because there would be too much to control....stopping him lunging, feeding him treats, keeping an eye on people. But now he wants to introudce the clicker in these situations so we can start to eventually be specific about what he gets rewarded for. So now I will click and treat as people go past, and at the vets (and outside) I am allowed to let him sniff the vet/person and eventually take a treat (because he is doing so well) but then call him away so he is left wanting more, and then click and treat. He doesnt want to have strangers stroke him yet, even though they probably could a bit, because he doesnt want to push it....he said he may seem OK, but he may not be 100% happy with it. he said what we dont want is for him to feel relief when the people leave or when he is called away, as this will be reinforcing the view that people are scary!

But this was an amazing visit.....he is like a different dog to how he was a year ago!! I cant stop smiling!

He did say it is all down to the work I have done and how a lot of people dont put that much effort in...which is true...but I really enjoy doing it all! I find it so interesting, and seeing the results is amazing!

Sorry - proud mother braggin over now!

[Erica]

You deserve to brag! You're doing really well, it sounds like!

[ClareMarsh]

Oh don't apologise, love bragging Mother stories And I love the RVC too, they saved Ted's life and the way the treated him, whilst stopping me from going insane with worry was amazing.

I haven't been here that long to follow your whole journey but wanted to say "Go ladybug and Dylan"

[ladybug1802]

Thanks guys!

Clare what happened to your Ted?

To give you a little idea, a year ago Dylan would lunge and snap at any strangers that passed by him too close. He was VERY unpredictable..I couldnt even stand to talk to my neighbours without body blocking him and making sure he didnt go near them and that they didnt look at him at all! Now I dont let strangers touch or pet him because there really is no need....unless I have asked them to, for example, feed him a treat as part of the training.

They are great up at the RVC arent they....JB is amazing as well! I didnt actually describe what I have to do next with the clicker well at all, after reading it back! But it isnt that exciting to anyone else so no point me going into detail!

Quite honestly this site saved my sanity and were amazing last year when I came on stressed as anything! He just needed a little extra help as his anxiety was very ingrained.

[ClareMarsh]

Ted became hypoglycemic as he didn't eat his last meal of the day and by the time he woke up his blood sugar was so low he couldn't move. I knew he needed to eat regularly but didn't realise how serious it could be, our vet didn't know what was wrong with him but called RVC for help, they told the vet what to do to keep him alive whilst we drove over there and then took over. Our consultant spoke to us twice a day EVERY day, and once Ted was more stable made time for us to go and visit him where I could tell Ted had formed a bond with him. I was hysterical for the 4 days he was in there and then exhausted from feeding him every 4 hours (2am was the fun one) until he was big enough to go through the night. He's totally fine now and the upside was that I did lots of research on nutrition and got him onto a raw diet, there is no skipping meals now, or bits of food on the floor, or anything that might be vaguely edible!

Gosh, that is a massive improvement, no wonder you're so proud To be honest I tend to keep strangers away from Ted too (although he'd say hello to EVERYONE given half the chance, have had to work on that) as I find that it doesn't always go well. I've had people try to pick him up (errrr, put my dog down), start play fighting with him (errr, we're trying to stop him doing that), they let him jump up them because he's only small (errr, we don't let him do that) etc etc. Although I did notice no one tried to say hello to him today as was walked through the village with him in his poo covered coat from where he'd been rolling in "nice" stuff

[ladybug1802]

Oh goodness poor Ted! And how stressful for you but thank goodness he has come out the other end and al is good! He was definitely in th best place!

Yes that is indeed why i am so proud of him.....my neighbour said the other day that he is like a different dog, and he really is! He was always gorgeous to me, but now he doesnt try to lunge at everyone he doesnt know he is even more so!

Its clearly been a very exhausting morning though....an early morning walk on the vineyard at 7am then a trip to the RVC....he is now curled up sparko on his bed!!

[WufWuf]

Well done to you and Dylan! It's so great to read success stories and hear how far your dog has come - Woo Hoooooo!!!

[Fundog]

Yes, great work, Ladybug! Now refresh me.... what breed/s of dog is Dylan?

[ladybug1802]

Not really sure Fundog as he is a rescue of unknown background....I tend to say collie x retriever, although several people have asked if he is a Nova Scotian Duck Tolling Retriever....and he does have many similarities! IN fact my parents were recently in Canada and saw someone with a dog looking very like Dylan. Dad asked what breed the dog was and, lo andbehold, it was a Toller! But here are a couple of photos of my boy:-

[Fundog]

Oh wow--- he is definitely a very handsome dog, whether he is a genuine Toller, or a Golden Collie.